Pete C

The Sentinel article said it was going to be the Dodge dealership that would be redeveloped. "The Dodge dealership has been in play for a while. It's great to see that there will be some redevelopment on that in the near future." http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/os-winter-park-whole-foods-20131017,0,1108483.story

The one on Church St and Orange Ave is also up. I like it!

It's not terribly exciting, but I think it's a sharp looking building. It looks more interesting than NORA or Central Station.

Matt reported it before, but I think the new apartment building in Thornton Park is a pretty big deal. Nobody really even seemed excited about it and that surprised me. That eyesore of land will finally have something nice that will increase downtown population. There is still a great deal of demand for rentals downtown.

Downtown Orlando has a lot of bars and lounges, and a lot of them are good with different themes and nice finishes. However, we have nothing in terms of large, upscale dance clubs.

This actually sounds like a high quality nightclub going in a space above Vintage and The Fifth. They hired some talented designers according to the website. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/os-vanity-nightclub-opening-orlando-20131001,0,3179135.story http://www.vanityorlando.com "Designed by award winning nightclub designer, Charles Doell, of Mister Important Design Firm, VANITY is the most elite club in Orlando comprised of three atmospheres including a lounge, club, and balcony terrace. Each section has its own private lounge seating, flat screen TV’s and contemporary furniture, which promises to deliver the elegance and style that Orlando's sophisticated nightlife aficionados have been longing for."

Haven't heard any more news on this one. Is it dead?

What's funny is that my wife and I walked around on Sunday, and I took her over to the globe one with the fish and she really liked it. She knows much more about art than I do as her family is full of professional artists...so it is true that each person will see the pieces differently. Overall I am very excited about all of the installations now. They will get people walking, talking, and taking photos. If I had to gripe I would say too many of them went to Lake Eola. I think Church St should have at least gotten one of them.

Are the rumors still true that we are going to have one of the smallest pitches in the MLS like Portland?

Saw this one in person yesterday and I am a big fan. I also saw the installation of birds on the north side of the park and that one looks promising.

The thing is, cool things have been done with shipping containers in urban settings from housing to retail to restaurants. This is just not one of them. One trip to the internet provides several examples of more inspiring usage of shipping containers than slapping an image of a train on the side surrounded by white space.

My jaw is on the floor. To say that I hate this is the understatement of the year. And the city is recommending approval?? Are we that desperate for a sports bar, even of their reputation? The last thing that the City of Orlando needs is something else "fake"...we already have to deal with that stigma enough!!!

That Montage article is from 2011.

I think Ceviche is a great place to recommend out of towners. You cant beat the atmosphere, and the Yelp ratings have actually improved over the years to a 4-star average. Definitely Kres and Rusty Spoon as well. Hopefully whatever replaces Hue will be at least as good. Overall we still need more. Hopefully the arts center will spawn some new casual fine dining concepts.

After going over the other pieces, they look more promising.

I was just on Deedee Morrison's page, and I actually like many of her other sculptures. They usually have nice ornate carvings on them, and I see several that I would like downtown. The other one she is doing for us looks better (IMO of course) in the In Progress section. http://deedeemorrisonsculpture.com/portfolio/1/Portfolio More of her first installation here. I just can't get into it at all: http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/cfnews13/on-the-town/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2013/9/6/first_look_new_see_a.html

W. T. F. If this is any indication, this whole art sculpture project is going to be a complete disaster. HIDEOUS!!!!! Sculpture hits downtown, with more to come http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-see-art-downtown-sculptures-20130911,0,4722182.story

Ok, I was wondering if this new building was related to the Montage because it was supposedly going to not only be on that plot next to Baptist Terrace, but also the one behind it where that new apartment building you posted is going. At least, that is what I thought based on what I had read. I was just wondering if this new building was the same developer as the Montage or something completely new.

Matt, saw this update on your site (love your site btw): New Apartment Building Coming to Thornton Park http://bungalower.com/2013/09/new-apartment-building-coming-to-downtown/ This is great news! Finally a proposal on one of those long-empty lots. Do you know if this is The Montage resurrected? That project was to be 3 towers on separate parcels, one of which was this very plot if I'm not mistaken. Some old Montage articles. These reference the 1st building being 19 stories and going next to Baptist Terrace along Lake Ave. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2008-10-13/business/real13_1_montage-downtown-orlando-lake-eola http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/print-edition/2011/09/16/developer-dusts-off-downtown-orlando.html

Have they figured out where they are going to play next year while the Citrus Bowl is being renovated? I heard Brighthouse is too small for a soccer field.

What is so bad about how it looks from the top? I think it looks really interesting, which is a lot more than I can say for other large flat-roofed buildings

I agree 100% with you guys. I am very excited to see rowhomes being built!! I think we have a nice collection of condos and historic homes. Developments like this give more options for people that want to live downtown in something new and don't want to pay the incredibly high HOAs of a condo. I hope to see many more like this.

Definitely not a good sign. I don't know what is to become of Church St. Hardly anything survives there.

Actually these are going into the Sanctuary in the recently vacated Prickly Pear and Nick's Italian Kitchen spaces. They are both targeting 30+ age group. http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/blog/2013/07/new-restaurantlounge-concepts-to.html

So we will have 2 indoor karting centers in that area along with Orlando Grand Prix. This one is closer to I-drive though.